Monthly Archives: April 2015

Like many Tea Party aspirants, the junior senator from Alberta, Ted Cruz, has a favorite Thomas Jefferson quote he evokes almost every time he speaks.

During his announcement of his candidacy last month at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, to a crowd of students forced to attend on penalty of receiving a fine, Cruz declared, “The purpose of the Constitution, as Thomas Jefferson put it, is to serve as chains to bind the mischief of government.” There is just one problem; Jefferson never said that.

What Jefferson actually said was, “…in questions of power then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the constitution.”

So the question hanging in the air is, “Why would Senator Cruz change a quote to mean something completely opposite of what was originally intended?”

Jefferson’s original quote is very clear that what the constitution is keeping from mischief by binding it down by its chains is not the government but man. It is not the constitution binding the Federal government because of its mischief, but binding the people who would create mischief if there were no Federal power to hold them in check. Mischief the likes of not allowing someone of a different color eating in your restaurant, or drinking from your drinking fountain or catering a same-sex wedding for so-called “religious” reasons.

The 2016 Presidential Election season rolls on, and the Republican Tea Party (GOTP) clown car spins and swerves from one fantastic tale to another while former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton is driving her “Scooby Mobile” into New Hampshire this week.

On the Democratic side, a CNN/ORC poll of voters describing themselves as “Democrat” or “independents who lean Democrat” conducted 16-19 April 2015, has Clinton in a commanding lead of undeclared candidates with 69%, followed by Joe Biden 11%, Bernie Sanders 5%, Jim Webb 3% Martin O’Malley at 1%.

How do things stack up if the General Election was today? The same CNN/ORC poll has Hillary Clinton beating all GOTP comers by double digits.

Clinton 55/Rubio 41

Clinton 56/Bush 39

Clinton 58/Paul 39

Clinton 58/Christie 39

Clinton 59/Walker 37

Clinton 58/Huckabee 37

Clinton 60/Cruz 36

Clinton 60/Carson 36

According to recent polling data available, if the election was today Hillary Clinton would be the 45th President of the United States, and the others would be footnotes in history books.

Kansas’ Republican Tea Party (GOTP) Governor Sam Brownback has provided Kansas welfare recipients “an opportunity for success” by signing into law one of the goofiest welfare reform laws ever in the history of Kansas or any other state.

Regarding items, or services, now prohibited under the new law, House Bill 2258 states, “No TANF cash assistance shall be used to purchase alcohol, cigarettes, tobacco products, lottery tickets, concert tickets, professional or collegiate sporting event tickets or tickets for other entertainment events intended for the general public or sexually oriented adult materials…in any retail liquor store, casino, gaming establishment, jewelry store, tattoo parlor, massage parlor, body piercing parlor, spa, nail salon, lingerie shop, tobacco paraphernalia store, vapor cigarette store, psychic or fortune telling business, bail bond company, video arcade, movie theater, swimming pool, cruise ship, theme park, dog or horse racing facility, parimutuel facility, or sexually oriented business or any retail establishment which provides adult-oriented entertainment in which performers disrobe or perform in an unclothed state for entertainment, or in any business or retail establishment where minors under age 18 are not permitted.”

In case Kansans are now confused about what welfare cash can be spent on, if it looks like a place the Governor or any other GOTP politician might frequent, then you probably cannot use TANF cash assistance there.

I wonder if there is any evidence any TANF cash assistance has ever been used for the above, or if a bunch of crabby old conservatives just listed whatever they could think of and wrote a pre-emptive strike bill in case someone might try it.

The rather twisted thinking behind this new law is that by prohibiting these activities it will drive welfare recipients off the public dole and into full employment, because being shiftless welfare queens driving around in their Cadillacs going to tattoo parlors, concerts and sailing on cruise ships they need to be pushed into pulling themselves up by their bootstraps and out of those swimming pools, movie theaters and theme parks. Funny thing is the state of Kansas did not limit recipient’s ability to buy guns and ammo with their assistance money. They can buy all the guns and bullets they want, they just cannot think of body piercing or getting their nails done.

The 2016 Presidential Election season is rolling, and the Republican Tea Party (GOTP) clown car has lurched away from the curb with the junior senator from Texas, Ted Cruz at the wheel. The junior senators from Kentucky and Florida, Rand Paul and Marco Rubio have joined Cruz on this political joy ride. Opposing this dynamic trio of right-wing idiocy is former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton – who announced her candidacy on Sunday.

On the Democratic side, a Boston Herald/Franklin Pierce University poll of likely Democratic voters conducted 22-25 March 2015, has Clinton in a commanding lead of undeclared candidates with 47%, followed by Elizabeth Warren at 22%, Joe Biden 10%, Bernie Sanders 8%, Andrew Cuomo 4%, Martin O’Malley 1% and Jim Webb with no calculable support.

How do things stack up if the General Election was today? The latest ABC News/Washington Post poll of registered voters has Hillary Clinton beating all GOTP comers by double digits.

Clinton 56/Cruz 39

Clinton 53/Bush 41

Clinton 54/Walker 40

Clinton 54/Rubio 39

According to recent polling data available, if the election was today Hillary Clinton would be the 45th President of the United States, and the others would be footnotes in history books.